


Trying to Talk

by Remmy-AoT (Remembrance)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 13:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1186870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remembrance/pseuds/Remmy-AoT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren's a dork. Armin's a loser. They've been sharing a bed since they were little but have always been too shy to really talk about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trying to Talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ataraxiansmile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ataraxiansmile/gifts).



Eren was incredibly warm. His arm was hooked around Armin’s waist. Armin’s back was pressed up against his chest. He nuzzled the soft blond hair and smiled. Despite the cold winter, he was incredibly warm under the sheets, spooning with Armin. He had a smile on his face, and a bit of heat on his cheeks. Unaware that it was his hot breath teasing Armin’s neck that made his best friend shiver, he tugged the blanket to make sure they were both covered.  
  
It was the same every weekend.  
  
Eren either slept over at Armin’s, or Armin slept over at Eren’s. Usually, it was Armin who was sleeping over so with Mikasa the three of them could hang out together. It had been their way since they were little, and even now that they were both grown and verging on seventeen.  
  
They used the same excuse, every weekend.  
  
Armin was supposed to be sleeping on the spare mattress that was stored beneath Eren’s bed, but it was just _so_ much work to pull it out… that they _might as well_ sleep in the same bed.  
  
It was easier and comfier.  
  
That was, of course, before they had grown so big. Now they were a bit confined in the single bed, but neither one of them complained; in fact, Eren just considered it an excuse to be closer to his best friend.  
  
It was the way it had always been and it was the way it would always be.  
  
Except…  
  
Armin felt a nudge. “Hm?”  
  
“Hey,” Eren whispered. He moved his mouth closer to Armin’s ear. “You awake?”  
  
“Mhm.” Armin slowly rolled over, moving onto his back, looking up at Eren who was spooning his side.  
  
Eren moved one arm behind Armin’s neck, while the other one was still at Armin’s waist. “H-Hey, so…” Eren felt his throat tighten, cheeks redden. He had been trying to coax himself into this for about three weeks. He took a deep breath then just went with it: “So, are we… ever going to talk, about this?”  
  
Armin instantly tensed. “Talk about what?”  
  
“You know… this.”  
  
“What?” Armin rolled onto his side, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m tired. Night Eren.”  
  
Eren sighed, knowing this would happen. “Armin.”  
  
“I’m sleeping.”  
  
“Arm…”  
  
He didn’t reply.  
  
Eren pursed his lips, wondering what he should do. He eventually sighed and closed the small space between them, making his chest press up against Armin’s back again. “Armin.”  
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?”  
  
“If you think I’m going to get mad or something… I’m not, okay?”  
  
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
  
Eren sighed, closing his eyes. “Armin… Really?”  
  
“Yep. Totally. I’m trying to sleep. Night.”  
  
“So you have no idea what I’m talking about?”  
  
“Nope.”  
  
“So you don’t think it’s a little odd we’ve been sharing a bed for like ten years?”  
  
“It’s, um, just, you know…” Armin shrugged. “Convenient.”  
  
“Really?” Eren grinned. “We’re kind of close, though… Come on, just talk, okay?” He leaned down and pressed his lips to Armin’s shoulder, planting a tiny kiss.  
  
Armin glanced at his shoulder, blinking. He stared at his shoulder for a couple seconds, then his blue eyes shifted to Eren. He took a small breath before shifting his body so he was on his back again. “What… what do you want, to… talk about?”  
  
“This. Us…”  
  
Armin bit his lip, shrugging. He looked away. “I like it.”  
  
“I like it too.” Eren chuckled, relaxing a little. “I’m just… talking about us. This. This is kind of, you know…”  
  
“D-Do I know?”  
  
“Well, you know,” Eren mumbled, “It’s sort of, borderline… boyfriend, ish…”  
  
“Well.” Armin swallowed hard. “Maybe, yeah, kinda, sorta…” He frowned, but stayed still.  
  
The frown made Eren pause. He was still.  
  
Armin was still.  
  
The two of them were unmoving.  
  
It was unnerving.  
  
Armin eventually sighed. “So? It doesn’t mean we _are_ boyfriends, it’s not like you would…” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “Forget it. We’re not.”  
  
“Oh.” Eren felt his mouth go dry. “Well, um… maybe…” He made a face, closing his eyes. “Maybe we could…”  
  
“We could what?”  
  
Suddenly prompted, Eren shouted: “Nothing!”  
  
Armin winced, nudging Eren with his elbow. “Sh. Your parents are still asleep, you know…? Geez… what’s with you today?”  
  
“I just…” Eren closed his eyes again. “I just, wanted… to talk about it…”  
  
“I like us the way we are now.” Armin shrugged. “Why do you want to ruin it?”  
  
“I don’t–” Eren felt his breath hitch in his throat. His eyes widened.  
  
Armin quickly rolled over, shutting his eyes.  
  
Eren knew Armin was waiting for him to press up tightly against him, hug him tight, but… Eren took a deep breath, moving onto his back. He looked up at the ceiling, hands on his side. He kept staring, as if looking for some kind of answer.  
  
He got none.  
  
Eren rolled over onto his side, facing away from Armin. Even in the dark, he knew his vision was blurring. He brought up his arm, using the sleeve of his shirt to dry his eyes. He was pathetic. He couldn’t help but realise how stupid he was. Of course Armin wasn’t going to return his feelings. He wasn’t smart, like Armin. Eren knew he was just loud, obnoxious, he always ended up in fights, and he was nothing but a huge problem to everyone.  
  
Why would Armin–  
  
“Eren?”  
  
Inhaling sharply, he forgot Armin was still in the small bed with him. He glanced over to see Armin looking right at him and he swallowed hard. “What?”  
  
“Eren, are you… crying?”  
  
“No,” his voice cracked.  
  
“Eren. You’re crying…”  
  
“I’m not. Fuck off.”  
  
Armin grabbed Eren’s arm, tugging him closer. “Eren…” He made them face each other then frowned. “What’s wrong? Eren?”  
  
Taking a deep breath, Eren sighed. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong, okay?”  
  
“I don’t… I don’t understand.” Armin reached up, wiping the corners of Eren’s eyes with the long sleeve of his pyjamas. He could feel the wetness. He caressed Eren’s cheek, frowning. “I don’t understand. Why are you crying?”  
  
“I’m not crying… Just a little.” Eren took another breath. “Because… I’m stupid. That’s okay. If you want things to stay the way they are then that’s okay, just ignore me.”  
  
“Okay but, why are you crying? I’m not… I’m not making the connection, Eren.”  
  
“Look. Just drop it. Okay?”  
  
“But I don’t understand…” Armin stared at him. “Why are you crying…? Was it…? Was it me? What did I do? Was it something I said? Please… please help me understand, I don’t get it.”  
  
Eren just shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m not crying anymore it was just a couple tears. It’s okay. I’m just being stupid… I’m, I’m always stupid. Just forget it.”  
  
Armin wasn’t convinced. “Talk to me.”  
  
“ _Now_ you want to talk.”  
  
Armin closed his mouth. He paused for a moment, contemplating his thoughts before he spoke: “Eren… if you want to say something, just say it. I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me, I really don’t. I can’t read your mind. So… so just be honest with me, okay? If I’m the problem, tell me. I need to know. You need to spell it out for me.”  
  
“You… don’t want to change the way we are, and that’s okay—I get that. I’m happy with this if you are. So, if you don’t want to change it… that’s okay. It’s okay. It’s all okay.”  
  
“Of course I don’t want to change the way we are.” Armin frowned, not understanding. “I like it when you hold me… Even if it’s a bit, well… boyfriend-ish.”  
  
Eren sighed, rolling over, facing away from him.  
  
Armin stared at Eren’s back, trying to figure out what Eren could possibly—“Oh…”  
  
Eren tensed, swallowing hard.  
  
“When you said… When I…? You meant… You mean, we…? I…” Armin’s face turned red hot, and he instantly sat up, tugging the sheets with the movement and exposing them both to the cold air.  
  
Eren shivered, but didn’t dare move.  
  
“When I meant, change the way we are… you meant, like…” Armin struggled with the words, “I-In th-the other way… even… even… even m-more… boyfriend… ish.”  
  
“Yeah…”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“But…” Armin paused. “Why?”  
  
Eren sighed, turning to look up at Armin.  
  
“Why?” Armin repeated. He blinked. “I’m not… I’m not… I’m not good looking or funny, I don’t have anything you would like in a guy, I’m just a nerd and a dork and a dweeb and–”  
  
“Shut up!” Eren sat up, frowning. “What the fuck are you talking about!?”  
  
Armin jumped back, not that he had much room with the two of them sitting up on the single bed. He slowly put a finger to his mouth, reminding Eren that they had to be quiet.  
  
Eren dipped his head in apology, but his green eyes never left Armin. “You’re amazing.”  
  
“No,” Armin shook his head, “No I’m not… What are you talking about?”  
  
“You are. You’re so smart, and talented, and you see things no one else sees, you’re you’re, you’re… amazing. And you’re cute, and you _are_ funny and yeah you’re a dork but you’re so adorable when you get worked up about something I just want to kiss you.”  
  
“M-Me?” Armin’s eyes widened, cheeks warming. “N-No…”  
  
“Yeah you are!” Eren grinned, scratching the back of his head. He looked directly at Armin and took a deep breath. “I love… I… I love you.”  
  
“Eren…” Armin whispered, “I swear to God if you’re lying to me or if this is some kind of joke or if someone put you up to this…”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
Armin stared wide-eyed at Eren. He brought his knees up and hugged them, looking down. “R-Really?”  
  
“Y-Yeah…” Eren blushed, looking away. “I do.”  
  
“Say it again…”  
  
“Armin…”  
  
“Please?” Armin bit his lip, nervously looking up to Eren. “It’s just… it’s really nice to hear. I, I never thought, someone… I mean, I never thought someone would… To me? I’m not hot, I’m not sexy, and I have a stupid haircut–”  
  
“I like your haircut.” Eren frowned. “Don’t call it stupid.”  
  
Armin stared at Eren for a full minute before the biggest smile formed on his face. “I’m so stupid… I thought, when you said, I mean, when you said we should talk about it I thought you meant like we should stop because… there was, _no way_ you… you would ever want to be my boyfriend.”  
  
“Of course I want to be your boyfriend…” Eren looked away. “I’ve… wanted to be your boyfriend… for a while. I mean… Mikasa says I practically am…”  
  
“You kind of are…” Armin hugged his knees tighter, expression dropping. He frowned. “I was… I was trying, to get over you.”  
  
Eren blinked, tilting his head. “Huh?”  
  
“I mean… I thought,” Armin swallowed hard, “I thought there was no way you’d ever like a loser like me. You always protected me, from bullies, from everyone… I felt so safe with you, all the time. It was… It was nice. But I thought, just protecting someone and actually wanting to be with someone… those are two whole different things. I’m a loser… So I told myself, if I let myself have feelings for you, I’d just end up setting myself up for a total disaster because I’m just a loser and…”  
  
“You’re not.”  
  
Armin looked up.  
  
“You’re not a loser.” Eren slipped both arms around Armin, pulling him close. “You’re amazing, in every way. I love you.”  
  
“I-I…” Armin’s throat became tight, but he forced himself to relax. “I… I l-lov-ve, y-you… too.”  
  
“Really?” Eren’s eyes widened, a huge smile forming on his face. “Like, actually?”  
  
“Yeah…” Armin leaned into his best friend. “So… does that mean, we’re… boyfriends, now?”  
  
“I hope so… You don’t mind, right?”  
  
Armin suddenly grinned and shook his head, blond hair shifting with the movement.  
  
Eren knew his cheeks were on fire, but he couldn’t care less. He closed his eyes, leaning in.  
  
Armin’s eyes widened. He knew what was going to happen next. He forgot what breathing was as Eren’s lips pressed onto his. He snapped his eyes shut, completely paralysed for a full second, before… He melted. He breathed through his nose, taking in Eren’s scent, the scent he adored, and he kissed back slowly.  
  
Eren didn’t know what to do, but he moved with what felt right.  
  
Armin brought a hand up, cupping the side of Eren’s face as they kissed.  
  
Eren smiled, stroking Armin’s lips with his own, before he moved away. He kept his eyes closed, chuckling as he could feel Armin’s warm breath tickle his wet lips. “Love you.”  
  
“L-Love, y-you, too.”


End file.
